Road work commences in 5 Points
A portion of the 5 Points Concept plan, which has been in the pipeline since 2013, is about to become a reality.
Residents and business owners in the 5 Points area of Riverside received notice from the City of Jacksonville in late August that road improvements were slated to begin Aug. 31, weather permitting, and continue until the Spring of 2021.
The scope of the project will include, but is not limited to, a reconstruction of Lomax Street as a one-way street southeast bound between Park and Oak Streets and of the iconic 5 Points intersection where Lomax meets up with Margaret Street and Park Street. The purpose of the redesign of Lomax Street is to create a more walkable district and eliminate the congestion caused by the prominent 5 Points intersection.
Included among the work will be concrete and asphalt removal, drainage removal, roadway construction, concrete pavement, new traffic signals and utility adjustments, sodding, pedestrian crosswalks, benches, bike racks, landscaping, and more, according to information obtained from the city.
Kirby Development, Inc. is the contractor hired by the City Public Works Department to do the work.
During construction, the contractor is obligated to maintain pedestrian access to the businesses within the area receiving the road improvements, according to the city.
The Jacksonville City Council unanimously approved finding for the project in Sept. 2019 and the work had originally been slated to begin in January 2020.
District 14 City Councilwoman Randy DeFoor, with the help of Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration, secured $820,000 in funding for the start of the project, which is part of a multi-year 5 Points Improvement Plan totaling $1.5 million. The scope of the concept plan also entails improvements to Park Street at Post Street, Post Street at Margaret Street, three blocks on Margaret Street, and two crosswalks on Park Street opposite from the Sun Ray Cinema and on Margaret Street south of Oak Street.
By Marcia Hodgson
Resident Community News
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